The Dawn
by curlycutie016
Summary: An angel, robed in spotless white, Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night. Night woke to blush; the sprite was gone. Men saw the blush and called it Dawn.
1. Chapter 1

"And what's your name?"

Aurora looked startled and turned her head to stare at the man who was sitting off to the side. It was nighttime and the group was camped in a small grove of trees, one of which Captain Hook was bound against.

She hesitated; Emma was the one who had done most of the talking in the group especially when it came to communicating with their prisoner.

The last thing Aurora had said directly relating to Hook was her protest against leaving him to be eaten by an ogre.

But Emma was currently asleep with Snow beside her and Mulan was off patrolling or something. Besides, would be rude not to answer after all.

"I am Princess Aurora," she couldn't help the slight inflection of pride in her voice when she gave her titled name.

To her surprise, Hook didn't mock her the same way he spoke to Emma. Instead, he simply smiled. "Aurora," he repeated, testing the word in his mouth and rolling it back and forth.

She decided to explain, "It means…" but he interrupted her and finished her sentence with a grin, "the dawn."

Aurora's eyes widened with excitement at the shared knowledge, "that's right."

Before she could explain the story behind her naming, Hook simply said, "I can see why you parents would call you that." Then he tilted his head back like he was remembering something from long ago and he was hoping the night sky, which he had glimpses of through the leaves, would help him remember. It must have worked because he smiled to himself and murmured, "Aurora Musis amica."

Aurora felt like she had seen something private and decided to dismiss the conversation. "It's silly really…" and she started to turn away from him to face the fire again.

"No it isn't," he was staring so intensely at her. It was as if he was the fire that was heating and burning her.

Hook hadn't intended it to be like this. She had a weakness he was going to exploit but instead he found himself following the play of the firelight in her hair, how it made it look like there were streaks of amber in it. Her face seemed to glow like light was emanating from it. But what really captivated him were her eyes. They were the same earnest and kind eyes that looked back at him earlier as the others walked away to leave him to die.

Aurora found herself moving closer to him, "It isn't?" she murmured.

"Not at all," Hook replied in the same hushed tone. The magic may have left the land but he could feel it tugging around them in that moment.

Aurora knew he was telling her the truth but there was a deception to him. He was hiding something, it was a secret no one was allowed to know but she could see it in his eyes.

She knew this because she had her own burden of a secret that she carried around with her. Aurora kept her secret because it was all she had left that after everything had been taken from her. She suspected that was Hook's motivation too.

"I can't untie you," she stated quickly and almost apologetically. She felt ashamed now that she had engaged in a pleasant conversation with him but still treated him like a captive.

Hook could tell she was uncomfortable and this is what he had initially anticipated and hoped for but now, instead of lulling her into a false sense of security, he started to reassure her. "Oh I wasn't expecting you to, in fact I would highly advise against it. I am an untrustworthy, cutthroat pirate."

Aurora laughed softly but then suddenly turned serious, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh but I do believe there's more to you than meets the eye."

Hook offered her a roguish grin, "that is true, Princess."

"If you like, you may call me Aurora," she moved back to her original seat and adjusted her dress.

"I'd like that very much, Aurora."


	2. Chapter 2

They were walking side by side through the woods at the rear of the group. He wasn't sure how this pairing came to be but he wasn't going to object to it especially when his companion decided to start a friendly conversation.

"You said you're Killian Jones..."

"That's right" he interrupted her.

She tried not to look impatient as she continued, "but you're also known as Hook. Which do you prefer?"

He shrugged carelessly, "I've been called many things and had a few names. Nothing stays the same so why should a name?"

She looked a little confused as if she didn't know how to answer that statement. "Well I will call you Captain to appease you either way."

He laughed, "So diplomatic of you, Princess."

At this she smiled a clever smirk, "I thought I told you to call me Aurora." She lifted her skirts slightly, preparing to step over a large fallen log.

"A thousand pardons." He stopped and bowed gracefully, which was a feat considering he was still bound at the wrists.

Again, Aurora looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Hook suspected it was with regards to his gentleman-like manners towards her but she was too much of a lady to say anything.

This wasn't the first time Hook had acted unlike a pirate towards her, but each time it happened he noticed how she kept watching him out of the corner of her eye like he was a riddle she was trying to solve. He would then turn to meet her glance and smirk when she blushed and would turn to look away like the bark on the tree next to her was really that captivating.

Hook was fine with her staring and wondering, he found himself doing the same thing every now and then. The other women were a bit too obvious. Mulan was brave and self-sacrificing. Snow was a kind but firm leader and Emma was clearly a strong woman out of her element having to rely on the others.

But Aurora was different. She was a Princess who had no real 'purpose' or 'role' in the group but she seemed to be the most valuable member at times. It was how she looked after the others, even him, despite a heavy burden she carried.

The burden had to be the same as his, because her eyes had the same look his had after Milah had died in front of him while he was powerless to stop it.

But just as the Princess had respected his secret, he respected hers and kept things polite and courteous between each other. No mentioning of the past, just moving forward.

Except it was difficult to keep things hidden from her since she seemed to be the only 'safe' person in the group. He had slipped up earlier when they had the first real conversation.

Hook couldn't believe the old Latin that had been drilled into him as a boy coming out of his mouth when she told him her name. 'Dawn is friend to the Muses'… this Aurora was inspiring him but towards what he wasn't sure.

But he knew it was something big. Hook had this feeling only a few times in his life. When he first boarded the Jolly Roger. When Milah came to the docks begging him to take her away. When he first saw Neverland.

Now it was when the Princess Aurora smiled at him in a knowing way, that there was something silently shared between both of them that neither wanted to name yet.

"Captain Hook at your service, your highness," Hook offered his bound hands to her in assistance while she stepped over a fallen log.

"Thank you," she responded, taking him up on his offer and proceeded to walk ahead of him.

As he watched her stately progress down the trail another familiar but long forgotten phrase came to mind, "Carpe diem".


End file.
